專訪日本頂級義式西服Ring Jacket執行長福島薰一:「好的西裝穿起來應該要毫不費力」

Exclusive interview with Kaoruichi Fukushima, CEO of Japan's top Italian suit Ring Jacket: "A good suit should be effortless to wear."

On a hot morning in early July, two handsome and elegant men in suits walked into OAK ROOM. You don’t need to pay close attention to their outfits and styles to feel their excellent matching taste. One of them was wearing an indigo suit. This man is particularly eye-catching. After years and experience, he is still dressed neatly and fashionably without losing his personal style. There is no high-profile element on his body, but people cannot take their eyes away from him. Turn away.

This imposing man is Mr. Kunichi Fukushima, the CEO of Ring Jacket, Japan’s top Italian suit. Another man who came to visit OAK ROOM with him is Mr. Hidetoshi Sasamoto, the sales manager of Ring Jacket. Sasamoto Hidetoshi ), wearing a khaki suit with a red bean amoeba pattern tie, holding a folding fan in his hand, he was full of smiles as soon as he entered the door.

Mr. Fukushima and Mr. Sasamoto visited OAK ROOM for the first time for the new season’s product customization meeting. At the same time, they also took this opportunity to share the story and core spirit of Ring Jacket with us up close.

Trend-setting pioneer

Ring Jacket, which is currently famous in Japan, Hong Kong, New York and other places for its top-notch Italian suits, was founded in Osaka in 1954 by Mr. Choichi Fukushima. He was originally an insurance salesman. He was inspired by ready-made clothing. was undervalued, so I decided to start my own business. The reason why the brand was named Ring Jacket was deeply influenced by the self-made brand name VAN Jacket of his hometown friend Mr. Kensuke Ishizu, and was named after the "wheel of man" which means "connection between people". (Ring of People) as the basis for naming, the brand was named "Ring Jacket". At that time, except for VAN Jacket and Ring Jacket, no company in Japan used katakana as a company name. At that time, this method could It's quite Western style.

Kensuke Ishizu had a profound influence on the Japanese fashion industry. He was the first person to advocate the "TPO" (Time, Place, Occasion) dressing method in Japan, and the first person to introduce the Ivy style to Japan. At that time In Japan, where the social atmosphere of "tailor-made clothes equals nobility", only he wholeheartedly hopes that the market will start to have fashionable ready-made clothes for young people, instead of just inheriting the clothes from his father and grandfather. During World War II, he learned about the Ivy style by chance, and founded the clothing brand "VAN Jacket" that greatly influenced the baby boom generation. Later, he also served as the editor of Japan's first men's fashion magazine "Men's" Club" consultant. In the 1960s, Ivy style became the favorite fashion style of middle-class young people in Japan. He also took advantage of the trend and launched "Take Ivy", which is regarded as a bible. The book invited photographer Teruyoshi Hayashida to visit Ivy League School, photographing college students on campus with charming and natural images, is also regarded as the ancestor of trendy street photography. Kensuke Ishizu's influence has even given Preppy Style another synonym in Japan, called "VAN Style".

In the 1950s, the Ivy style was booming, and Ring Jacket took advantage of the trend. Unlike VAN Jacket, which promoted campus and casual clothing, Ring Jacket hoped to provide formal but not time-consuming customization for today's young people. High-quality suits, different from tailor-made suits and ready-made suits made by mass production lines, Ring Jacket makes ready-made suits in a custom-made way. At first, Ring Jacket's clothing was outsourced for production, but later found that quality control was difficult with such a cooperative method, so the founder decided to invite several craftsmen to form a company together, starting the Ring Jacket legend.

Current CEO Mr. Kaoruichi Fukushima said that in the past, when people mentioned "suits", they would think of stiffer British suits. After the introduction of the Ivy style, it broke the Japanese traditional imagination of suits. It makes wearing a suit no longer a constraint, but more comfortable, which makes Ring Jacket very popular, and allows Ring Jacket to occupy a place in the Japanese suit industry, and also lays the core of the brand's hope that men can wear comfortable clothes without losing their masculinity. Spirit.

Determination to keep pace with the times

Ring Jacket, which has been founded for more than a century, even though it has a long history, does not completely stick to tradition. In order to keep pace with the times, the style of Ring Jacket has been changed three times, from the British suit at the beginning to the ivy style trend. , to the comfortable Italian style now. In this regard, Mr. Kaoruichi Fukushima believes that the change in brand style does not mean following the trend, but adapting to the changes of the times and trying hard to resonate with the new generation of consumers: "No matter what It’s the same in any era, and taste must conform to contemporary needs. For example, today’s suits have obviously wider collars than previous styles.”

"No matter what era it is, taste must meet contemporary needs."

Every fashion style and clothing style has its most admired look, such as the armor-like British suit that uses woolen lining to solidify the structure of the garment. It has always been the standard in the suit industry. However, for the Ring Jacket, The Neapolitan style suit, which is made with only one piece of cloth and does not use a stiff lining to create an "artificial skeleton", but relies solely on the human body to support the structure of the garment, highlights the essence of the garment.

"A Neapolitan-style suit will not give people a too deliberate or grand feeling when worn. It is its charm that is both relaxed and fashionable." Mr. Kaoruichi Fukushima said: "Although a good-looking suit A suit needs to meet many conditions, and there is not just one standard. However, for Ring Jacket, the most important essential element of a good suit is that it can be put on effortlessly when worn; the sleeves and body There is no sense of pressure in other parts of the body, and the curve from the neck to the shoulders is smooth and completely conforms to the body, especially the shoulders without any burden. "

"For Ring Jacket, a good suit will not feel oppressive when worn, and it will fit perfectly with the body."

Therefore, the suits produced by Ring Jacket try their best not to use linings and shoulder pads, and rely on the exquisite manual skills of the craftsmen to complete the structure of the entire garment: "It makes the wearer feel that it is better than other brands (including meaning)." We are proud that it is made in Italy and is comfortable and easy. "In order to pursue an excellent wearing experience, Ring Jacket is not completely production-oriented like other garment factories, but is quality-oriented. In addition to sewing technology, it also has pattern scaling technology. It’s also quite demanding: “I heard that many factories even have paper patterns, but they don’t scale the various parts of clothing of different sizes. We are very strict about this, so the size, curvature, proportion, etc. of the suit can be very accurate. Presented.

Ring Jacket's exquisite skills are based on the hard work of old employees who have served the company for many years. Such accumulated capital has attracted a large number of fresh people to apply. In order to retain talents and pass on experience, Ring Jacket spares no expense to recruit new blood. Sent to Italy to learn the most authentic suit-making techniques and bringing the essence of local tailoring back to Japan, many employees who left Ring Jacket to start their own businesses have now become top tailors, such as Kotaro Miyahira, who founded Sartoria Corcos.

60 years after its founding, Ring Jacket still has to face many severe tests in order to maintain its unwavering position. This is why the brand has repeatedly emphasized the importance of "meeting contemporary needs." For modern urbanites who value efficiency, lightness, ease, and flexibility, Ring Jacket has a way to meet such demands for both versatility and beauty: "Ring Jacket's suit designs are elegant, naturally non-pretentious, and full of modernity. What’s important is that it’s comfortable and easy to wear, and people around you will definitely praise your outfit (laughs).”

Back to blog